Return “Ret” Moore

Return "Ret" Moore, PE served as president of the Orange County Branch from October 1958 to September 1959. He was born in Los Angeles, California in 1923.

From the OC Register

Return "Ret" Moore passed away at the UC Irvine Trauma Center on June 13th at the age of 91.

Ret is survived by his loving wife, Margaret of 68 years. They were married in Los Angeles on June 30, 1946.

Ret is lovingly remembered by his daughter, Cathy of Hemet, CA; son, Bill of Albany, OR; grandchildren, Rachel, Dane, Seth, Cody and Katie; and brother, David Moore of San Diego.

Ret was born in Los Angeles, CA in 1923. Shortly thereafter the family moved to Long Beach where he would grow up and eventually graduate from David Starr Jordan High School as Valedictorian in 1941. For the next 2 years he would attend Long Beach City College, earning an AA degree in chemical engineering. A little prior to this he had enlisted in the Naval Reserve V12 program and after graduation was called to active duty. In July, 1943 Ret started the accelerated program at Caltech as an Apprentice Seaman, with a change of majors to Civil Engineering. After completing his junior and senior years at Caltech he reported for officers training, where he would be commissioned an Ensign and sent to Pearl Harbor assigned to the 17th Naval Construction Battalion. The 17th C.B. was located on Saipan at the time and its work there was primarily the construction of an airstrip for fighter planes which was vital for the defense of an airstrip for long range bombers on the nearby island of Tinian. On the second day of the invasion of Okinawa the 17th Battalion landed its equipment and took up the task of building roads in support of the invasion. After the Japanese surrender, Ret was sent down to Manus Island, off of New Guinea, where a CB detachment prepared two large floating dry docks for towing back to Pearl Harbor. Finally the long trip back to California where he was discharged in June of 1946. He would return to Caltech, and in the following two and a half years receive his BS degree in civil engineering and complete the under graduate and graduate work for an MS degree in geology. Shortly thereafter Ret learned of a civil service examination for a new classification, "Engineering Geologist", that the state of California was advertising. Winning the position he would work for the Foundation Investigation Section of the California Division of Highways, Bridge Department for the next several years. Eventually he would go on to form his own foundation engineering company, Moore and Taber Engineering Consultants.

Ret was an avid fly-fisherman and enjoyed all facets of mountaineering. He twice climbed Mt. Whitney along with hundreds of other Sierra peaks.

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